Kenya's National Super League (NSL) season has been thrown into uncertainty after the High Court in Machakos stopped the competition from starting following a legal challenge by Darajani Gogo FC over its relegation.

The ruling, issued on Friday, October 23, 2026, came just days before the 2026/27 season was scheduled to begin. Justice Noel Adagi granted the Kibra-based club permission to pursue a judicial review case against the Football Kenya Federation (FKF).

The court order temporarily preserves Darajani Gogo's status as an NSL member while the legal proceedings continue. FKF subsequently notified participating clubs that the season had been put on hold pending further developments.

At the centre of the dispute is how FKF applied its promotion and relegation regulations when determining the teams that would compete in the new season.

Darajani Gogo finished 17th in the 20-team league during the 2025/26 campaign. Under the federation's September 2025 restructuring framework, four teams were due to be relegated, placing the club among those dropping to Division One.

However, the club argues that FKF should have applied the 2019 competition rules consistently. Under that framework, only the bottom three teams would have been relegated, allowing Darajani Gogo to retain its place in the second tier.

The club has also questioned why the federation relied on the older rules to facilitate a promotion play-off between Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United for a place in the top flight, while using the newer framework to determine relegation.

Darajani Gogo maintains that applying different rules to promotion and relegation during the same transition was unfair. However, these are the club's arguments, and the court has not yet made a final determination on the merits of the dispute.

The case could also affect the composition of the league, as four Division One teams have already secured promotion. FKF must now await further court directions before the season can proceed.

The court directed Darajani Gogo to file and serve its substantive application within seven days. The matter is scheduled to return to court on November 17, 2026, for further directions.

For the affected clubs, players and supporters, the immediate priority is a resolution that provides clarity on the competition rules and allows the new season to begin.

Source: https://x.com/citizentvkenya/status/2114605937897910366?s=20